Ligue 2. Thanks to Versini and his sales, Pau aims to be more ambitious at all levels

On the 2024/2025 season, Pau FC is one of the small group of four clubs currently playing in Ligue 2 who have finished the season financially in the green. Behind Guingamp (+0.695 million euros), Stade de Reims (+0.432 million euros in Ligue 1 last season), and Dunkerque (+0.177 million). With an excess of 7000 euros, the leaders of Pau have achieved one of their important goals.

“The top priority, for the club, is to be financially okay,” says president Bernard Laporte-Fray. “We did not anticipate the decrease in TV rights, and we were taken by surprise. It was necessary to quickly find alternatives to compensate for this shortfall and to continue to win since the decrease continues year after year. We need to offset this with one product: player sales. Today, we are able to balance our accounts because we have a sports director who does what is necessary to bring in young players, develop them, and increase their market value.” This season, although the budget was initially estimated at 7.5 million, it will ultimately amount to around 9.6 million. Luis De Sousa points out that “commercial revenues have increased from 1.7 to 2 million,” and attributes this to his trading work that led to “3.4 million euros in transfer fees,” according to the figures provided by the management.

Towards a more ambitious future

Playing to avoid relegation has been a priority for Pau FC since entering the professional world in 2020. However, President Laporte-Fray would like to see the short-term sports goals evolve: “Since the beginning, we have only talked about avoiding relegation, but today, we want to aim for something else. I dare to hope that we will regularly play in the top half of the table. For this season, I would like us to finish between 8th and 10th place. Then, as we start our 7th season in Ligue 2, even with a small budget, we must aim for something other than just avoiding relegation. We must become a respected club in the league.”

The challenge is that the team from Béarn starts each season with a significantly changed squad, making it very difficult to build stability. The next season is unlikely to deviate from this trend. This is the reality for selling clubs, of which Pau FC is a part, with its explicit trading policy. “When you sign with Pau, you accept that your squad will change every year,” recalls Luis De Sousa, who is well aware that he cannot compete to keep the best players on his team. This was the case with Moussa Sylla two seasons ago and with Pathé Mboup and Antoine Mille last summer. It will be the same again this summer.

Giovani Versini, the golden goose

It is not surprising to LDS that many clubs are inquiring about buying out the remaining two years of Giovani Versini’s contract, by far the best player for Pau this season. “It’s part of the game. We can’t be shocked every time,” says LDS. “How can we keep him? He is our biggest asset,” emphasizes Bernard Laporte-Fray, hinting at a sizable future transfer fee.

This transaction is expected to surpass the record held by Moussa Sylla so far (2.5 million euros). This is the hope of the leaders in Béarn regarding a player who has just earned his first two caps for the French national youth team. “The market will decide how much we will get. In any case, the goal is to achieve a historic sale,” hopes De Sousa, noting that “French clubs no longer have the means and are more cautious in the transfer market.”